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Syracuse improved to 2-2 after it swept Army West Point (0-1) 7-0 in both doubles and singles matches at the Drumlins Country Club on Saturday afternoon. 

In doubles, the Orange won 2-1, with the No. 3 graduate student pair Miranda Ramirez and Guzal Yusupova finishing first with a 6-4 score after a series of tough back-and-forth volleys. 

No. 1 doubles pair Viktoriya Kanapatskaya and Natalie Novotna followed shortly after with another 6-4 victory to give the Orange the doubles point. No. 2 pair Polina Kozyreva and Sofya Treshcheva lost in a close 6-4 score. 

“We did a great job bringing a lot of energy to start the doubles, and we carried that momentum to the singles,” head coach Younes Limam said.

Syracuse maintained momentum by sweeping 6-0 in singles play, after another strong performance from Kozyreva. Coming off of a 2-0 singles streak against Boston College, No. 6 Kozyreva won 6-1 and 6-2, finishing well before her teammates. Novotna came in next for the Orange, with commanding 6-0 and 6-4 victories. 

Sophomore Zeynep Erman sealed the victory for Syracuse after tallying another point with her swift 6-1 and 6-2 wins in the No. 5 spot. Ramirez won her first set 6-1 and narrowly closed out her second set 7-5 after sneaking a drop past Army’s Hannah Boubel. Kanapatskaya, in the No. 1 singles spot, played a tough match and finished 6-1 and 6-3, while No. 2 Yusupova completed the sweep for the Orange, winning 6-1 and 6-3.

The commanding 7-0 victory for Syracuse comes after a 1-2 start, with two 4-0 losses to Louisville and Ohio State during ITA Kickoff weekend and a 5-2 victory over Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Boston College last weekend. 

“We know that every conference match is going to be a battle. Every team is really good,” Limam said. 

The team travels this weekend for back-to-back ACC matches, with Louisville (3-2), followed by Notre Dame(7-3).

Published on February 13, 2021 at 6:59 pm

Contact Gillian: gwhahn@syr.edu